Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[cb200]

Are those N95 masks considered disposable one-time use only?

Ideally- yes.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/UnderstandingDifference3-508.pdf

 

[Zamb]

Where are the materials for production of medical grade going to come from in North America? The supply chain is global. There's no point in shipping from Asia to home-sewers when there's production capacity in Asia sitting idle due to PO cancellations.

I don't have a lot of time, I am in the business of solving problems.
Just got a call from a hospital chain in Georgia, whose staff was told they have to find their own mask/ safety gear. the person who called was a Dr.

Also our Governor Cuomo in NY just announced they'll be funding biz to produce exactly the kind of stuff I am doing. We will keep on working. hopefully we get finding to hire more people and make more masks (and protective gear) for those who need them
I already have the know how for all of the protective gear needed, and prototypes too I have a full kit for the face, eye protection, specifically for frontline doctors, so let the naysayers continue.
Im just gonna keep on working, and hope that what we do will save lives and keep people safe.

Ill keep you all updated, but o the subject of money, I remember the words of Rhett Butler (gone with the wind)
"There us just as much money to be made in tearing down society as there is in the building up thereof"
Im not trying to tear down society, I am trying to keep people alive and safe, against something that could also take me or someone in my family out.
If I make some money from it, why not?

 

[clee1982]

not a naysayer, but please don't make false medical claim, how do you feel if your suppose prolong use of N95 cause people to misuse N95, especially if this goes to medical worker

 

[clee1982]

like if you already the real facts covered, all good, wish you the best luck, but please don't make some layman argument on medical product

 

[OccultaVexillum]

@Zamb
Nobody has an issue with you making masks. Nobody.
The issue is your unfounded claims and the wording you’re using.

 

[clee1982]

And no one has issue with you make some money in the process as well...

 

[crazn]

I've just come back from Japan, and I'm struck by the very different attitudes to wearing face-masks and what it means. And yes, like my friend Zeynep (Tukecki, mentioned above), I'm a social scientist.

People here (on this thread included) seem to want to find any information they can to support their existing cultural disinclination to wear masks. Wearing masks is not normal in North America. You can dress it up how you like. But what you are doing is cherry-picking evidence to support what already seems most normal to you. And no, this is not about ethnicity, so it doesn't matter if you're Asian-American or Italian-American here, what matters is that you're American or Western, in this cultural context.

Meanwhile Japanese people, and Taiwanese people and others, carry on weairng masks if they feel ill or if there's something going around, and... well, just look at the infection rates and success in combating the disease. Of course it's much more than masks, but masks aren't just useless symbols, they are part of a whole cultural package that in this case, leads to greater success in dealing with the pandemic.

Thing is, this means Zamb's effort (whatever its motives) is probably doomed anyway and I'm not going to try to persuade you all to wear masks. Large numbers of people aren't going to wear masks in North America. But this is also indicative of the kind of stupid individualism that saw people out on beaches on Florida yesterday or in bars in New York the day before. It's not that doing either of those things in themselves are necessarily terrible (it happens in Tokyo too) but again, it's the whole cultural package. Out in public, no masks, poor public hygiene, don't give a **** attitude... it adds up. You also saw this in Italy before things went really bad, and France.

In other contexts, you'd really welcome all that America **** Yeah stuff. But not now. Let's hope enough people realise and in enough time.

I'll like to add that in general asians do not do bises ( cheek kisses as a form of welcome ). we don't usually practise this western tradition. I think that this form of bodily contact with likelihood of respiratory droplets and saliva getting in close contact with another person's face has worsened the situation in the west. the mask might be helpful but there are some other stuff that potentially makes things worse.

 

[crazn]

I don't have a lot of time, I am in the business of solving problems.
Just got a call from a hospital chain in Georgia, whose staff was told they have to find their own mask/ safety gear. the person who called was a Dr.

Also our Governor Cuomo in NY just announced they'll be funding biz to produce exactly the kind of stuff I am doing. We will keep on working. hopefully we get finding to hire more people and make more masks (and protective gear) for those who need them
I already have the know how for all of the protective gear needed, and prototypes too I have a full kit for the face, eye protection, specifically for frontline doctors, so let the naysayers continue.
Im just gonna keep on working, and hope that what we do will save lives and keep people safe.

Ill keep you all updated, but o the subject of money, I remember the words of Rhett Butler (gone with the wind)
"There us just as much money to be made in tearing down society as there is in the building up thereof"
Im not trying to tear down society, I am trying to keep people alive and safe, against something that could also take me or someone in my family out.
If I make some money from it, why not?

Zamb, what folks in power are now trying to do is to repurpose idle industries ( textile and fashion for example ) towards making masks and hand sanitizers ( like what LVMH is doing with its cosmetics and perfume division ). This is not disimilar to what Roosevelt did for America in WW2.

I quote from the PBS website... "If the American military wasn’t yet equal to the Germans or the Japanese, American workers could build ships and planes faster than the enemy could sink them or shoot them down. "

I'm pretty sure nobody in american industry would object to getting these government contracts now as it was in the past. But I'm also pretty sure back then the industry leaders wouldn't go around questioning the military manufacturers sharing their plans if the bomber planes or destroyers should have their critical specs tinkered with.

There are some papers that push the science forward and challenge long held assumptions and potentially shake facts down to their base foundations. But leave scientists to do the job of expanding the frontiers of science please.

 

[cb200]

Zara Owner Inditex Will Donate Masks for Coronavirus Patients and Health Workers in Spain

The Spanish fashion company is stepping up in a time of crisis.

www.vogue.com

 

[Zamb]

Good read...……....this is where I worked with these guys.
I own Zfactorie because I learned here how to run a factory
And I learned here that 'form honors vision'

they were never qualified to do what they did...……..they did it anyways, and America is better for it.
I have the same approach

Why U.S. Troops Depend on This Brooklyn Company’s Gear

thebridgebk.com

 

[crazn]

Good read...……....this is where I worked with these guys.
I own Zfactorie because I learned here how to run a factory
And I learned here that 'form honors vision'

they were never qualified to do what they did...……..they did it anyways, and America is better for it.
I have the same approach

Why U.S. Troops Depend on This Brooklyn Company’s Gear

thebridgebk.com

erm dude. the science guy behind this company has a masters in mechanical engineering. They are not ill-equiped nor unqualified. The art student still enlisted a science/engineering guy to help him.

I quote

"Thompson was a 24-year-old getting his master’s degree in mechanical engineering, while Crye was an art student"

"Designers and engineers create prototypes; production workers cut metal, plastics and fabrics; rows of workers at sewing tables stitch the pieces together"

of course the issue now is that the mask filter material degrades with moisture. If you got the assistance of somebody from 3M or any of those geniuses in the ivy league or tech universities like MIT or Caltech in materials engineering to improve the filter material so that one mask can last longer or forever, i'll eat my words. But as you are currently a fashion designer, i'm not going to stand up for you and vouch you got the technical or scientific expertise to improve on a product that's made by 3M, one of the best corporations for these scientific technical engineering medical stuff in the world.

 

[LA Guy]

erm dude. the science guy behind this company has a masters in mechanical engineering. They are not ill-equiped nor unqualified. The art student still enlisted a science/engineering guy to help him.

I quote

"Thompson was a 24-year-old getting his master’s degree in mechanical engineering, while Crye was an art student"

"Designers and engineers create prototypes; production workers cut metal, plastics and fabrics; rows of workers at sewing tables stitch the pieces together"

of course the issue now is that the mask filter material degrades with moisture. If you got the assistance of somebody from 3M or any of those geniuses in the ivy league or tech universities like MIT or Caltech in materials engineering to improve the filter material so that one mask can last longer or forever, i'll eat my words. But as you are currently a fashion designer, i'm not going to stand up for you and vouch you got the technical or scientific expertise to improve on a product that's made by 3M, one of the best corporations for these scientific technical engineering medical stuff in the world.

So, true story: my group at Caltech had a pretty decent sized grant from DARPA to create a filter against biological and chemical agents. The idea was to use photolysis to destroy the agents trapped on the filters. The project ultimately had to be dropped because they couldn’t figure out how to make a filter that could trap both the chemical agents while allowing sufficient airflow. A postdoc with a 2:30 marathon time (there is at least one picture is him trailing the leading woman in the LA times, from before the men and women were staggered) would bust his ass on the treadmill wearing the thing, and if he could never breathe right. It always looked like a courageous effort though.

Just to let you all know that there are plenty of failed or, ahem, “more research needed” projects at Caltech and MIT.

Incidentally, one of my best friends in university is pretty senior at 3M now, I think supervising materials research groups, and her husband, also an undergrad friend, is a pretty good doctor, who I think is on the Canadian frontline against COVID-19, as is my brother - with whom I just talked this morning. Godspeed to both of them and all their colleagues.

There are a lot of legit people working on this stuff and fighting this pandemic.

I am possibly getting back into academia temporarily just to see what I can contribute, possibly in modeling resource needs and allocation. Logistics saves lives.

@Zamb - You are going to need someone knowledgeable in both testing methods and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) certification process to bring you through this. Before you do all of this, it’s best to claim nothing. After, your certification will speak volumes.

 

[Joytropics]

I can't speak to the science, but I can certainly speak to the PR/messaging:

It's a HORRIBLE idea to be talking about making money and aesthetic appeal right now. Makes all the criticism well-earned.

 

[LA Guy]

On a related note, the federal government should really emergency requisition clothing factories to make medical equipment. It replenishes much needed medical supplies, and gives those factories a shot in the arm.

 

[Todd Shelton]

On a related note, the federal government should really emergency requisition clothing factories to make medical equipment. It replenishes much needed medical supplies, and gives those factories a shot in the arm.

I talked with someone in the NJ government today, basically offering our factory to help anyway we can. He moved the conversation to email with other NJ contacts rather quickly. If they need us, I'll update the thread.